Does an Employee Have a Duty of Loyalty to His Employer?
By Christopher S. Young Employers generally assume that all employees are providing their services solely to that employer and often do not consider that an employee may be developing a competing business or possibly usurping business opportunities while being paid by the employer. Absent a non-competition agreement, there is little an employer can do to prevent an employee from competing with the employer’s business after the employee’s services are terminated. There are certain common law protections for employers during the period of time that the employee is working for the company, but those protections end the day that the employee leaves the employ of the employer. Maryland courts have held that, while working for an employer, all employees have an implied duty of loyalty and care that they owe to the employer. An employee must act solely for the benefit of his employer in all matters that are within the scope of his employment. An employee has a right to prepare to leave his cu
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